Misery's Birthday
by UltimateKawaiiGirl
Summary: It's Misery's birthday, and her friends want to make it extra special. But there's a lot more in store for them than fun and games... I'm HORRIBLE at summaries! Rated T for character near-death. A small hint of Ruby/Skull Boy romance, but just one.
1. It's My Birthday?

A/N: Hi everyone! Here's my first Ruby Gloom story I'm posting, but not the first I wrote. I know the chapters, especially the early ones, are short, but bear with me. The reason the chapters will be posted very quickly is because I already have it written. So, I hope you enjoy... Misery's Birthday! YAAAY! *Kermit flail*

* * *

"Happy birthday, Misery!" Misery awoke to the sound of her friends' voices cheering this. She immediately sat up.

"It's my birthday? Today?" she said.

"You forgot?" Ruby said. "Well, surprise!"

"Yeah, we're throwing you a party!" Iris chimed in.

"Iris, you weren't supposed to tell her that," Skull Boy said.

"Oops."

"No! No, no, no, no. This is not good. I thought I had another week! Everyone just get away from me," Misery panicked.

"What are you talking about, Misery?" Ruby asked.

"I will tell you tomorrow. For today, all of you should just stay away. As far away as possible. You'll probably want to evacuate the house."

"What are you talking about?" Ruby repeated. "You're acting like your birthday is a bad thing."

"It is. Trust me. If I'm still alive tomorrow, I'll explain. But I mean it. You can_not _be near me today. Just _listen _to me. It's for your own good."

"No way. I'm going to make sure you have a great day," Ruby said brightly.

"Okay, if I explain will you listen? You know how disaster seems to follow me. Well, it's worst of all on my birthday. I don't want to endanger you."

"Well, she did warn us," Scaredy Bat said, starting to leave. "We'd best leave now, shall we?"

Ruby grabbed him by the wing. "It's okay, Scaredy. I'm sure she's exaggerating."

"I am not exaggerating! Listen to him! He's the only one who gets it!" Misery shouted. "Just hurry!"

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I for one am going to make sure you have the best birthday ever!" Ruby said.

"I'm with you!" Iris added.

"Me too," agreed Skull Boy.

"I agree," Poe said.

"Totally!" Frank and Len said simultaneously.

Doom Kitty nodded her head.

Misery groaned. "Why does no one listen to me? This is important. I don't want anyone getting hurt. Will you be more worried if I give you an example? My great-great-great-great-grandmother caused the Great Chicago Fire on her birthday. She was trying to make herself a birthday cake."

"I'm sure that's just a coincidence-"

"My seventh cousin accidentally caused a flood that destroyed an entire town on her birthday. She overfilled the bathtub."

"Well, Misery, I'm sure nothing like that will happen to you-"

"Last year I-"

"It doesn't matter what happened last year. This year is gonna be different."

"Of course it will! Something different and probably much worse is going to happen and I don't want you guys to be involved!"

"Oh, cheer up, Misery."

"How can I? Today is my birthday!"

Ruby dragged her out of bed. "We're going to make sure you enjoy your birthday if it kills us!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," she muttered.

"Sorry, I should have used a better choice of words."

Misery removed her hand from Ruby's. "You shouldn't touch me. I might spontaneously combust."

Ruby ignored this. "Come on! Let's have some breakfast."


	2. Breakfast

Ruby went upstairs, dragging an unwilling Misery behind her. The others followed.

"What do you want for breakfast, Misery?" Ruby asked.

"Whatever there is that has no possibility of catching on fire. Or being poisoned. But to be safe I should probably leave the room, just in case." She left.

"Hmm... Cereal?" Ruby said.

"Shouldn't you make her something more special for her birthday?" Iris asked, bouncing across the kitchen with her spring shoes.

"She did say she didn't want anything that could catch on fire. I should probably give her what she wants," Ruby replied.

"Come on, Ruby! Surprise her! She'll be happy."

"Okay, I guess you're right. I'll make muffins."

While Ruby was busily cooking, Misery was making her escape. She crept out of the house, hoping to find a place where she wouldn't hurt anyone or cause much damage, but unfortunately, she tripped and fell noisily down the front stairs, ruining her secrecy.

"Ow."

Iris poked her head out the window. "You okay, Misery?"

"I'm not here," Misery replied. "I'm inside, just like you wanted me to be. This is all an illusion."

"Um, okay. Well, Illusion Misery, you'd better tell the real Misery that it's almost time for breakfast and she should come to the kitchen."

"Why do they want to endanger themselves like this?! I am at least three times more of a walking disaster than I usually am today. This is going to end badly, I just know it," Misery said to herself.

"I made birthday muffins!" Ruby said.

"Nothing burned?"

"Nope. See, Misery, it's all in your head."

"Well, to be fair, I wasn't in the room. Probably something would have happened if I had been."

"Just come and have some muffins."

Reluctantly, she sat down and cautiously took a muffin. As soon as she put it on her plate, the plate inexplicably shattered. She took a bite of the muffin and immediately started coughing. She spit out the muffin, wincing.

"What happened?" Skull Boy asked, concerned.

"There were pieces of ceramic in my muffin," Misery explained. "From the broken plate. I cut my tongue."

"Well, at least you noticed before you swallowed it... right?" Ruby said. She was smiling, but her eyes looked unsure.

"You do have a point. Ruby?"

"Yes?"

"If I don't make it through today, can you please make sure I'm buried with my dolls and my great-great-great-great-you-get-the-idea-grandmother's tablecloth? And don't invite both my cousins to my funeral. I don't want to offend either of them, though, so afterwards can you tell her it got lost in the mail?"

"Misery! Don't talk like that."

"Like what? Does my voice sound different? I'm sick, aren't I?"

"No! You're going to be fine."

"Of course. As sure as Gloomsville is sunny, I'm going to be fine."


	3. A Bad Feeling

"Ruby, this is such a bad idea!" Misery said.

"Nothing bad is going to happen," Ruby assured her.

Misery looked distant for a moment. "That's exactly what my cousin Maudlin's best friend told her on her fourteenth birthday. And she believed her. Then, they went and had a delightful tea party."

"See, happy ending. Come on, let's-"

"Unfortunately, the tea turned out to be poisoned. They both died that night," she said sadly.

The last thing Ruby wanted to do was admit it to Misery, but these stories were beginning to make her the tiniest bit worried. Still, she forced herself to keep smiling.

"I think you need to get out of the house," Ruby said.

"Finally, I got through to you! I'll be back tomorrow if I'm still here. If not... it's been nice knowing you. Don't worry, I won't linger. Goodbye."

"No, Misery. I meant _we _need to get out of the house. To do something fun."

A bolt of lightning hit Misery. "Let the fun begin."

* * *

"See what I mean? The lightning? I told you today was going to be bad!" Misery cried as Ruby dragged her across the front yard.

"But that happens to you every day," Ruby replied.

"That was only the beginning!" Misery said ominously. "First, it's the lightning. Then, a tornado comes out of nowhere and sweeps us away, spinning us around and around until we feel thoroughly sick, destroying all of Gloomsville before finally dumping us unmercifully into the ocean. I'm telling you, you _really _need to stay a safe distance away from me today."

"You know what, Misery? Even if something _does _happen, we can deal with it much better together than any of us on our own, right? We need to stick together. That way, on the slim chance that something bad happens, we can help each other to get through it. We're going to be okay."

"I appreciate the thought, Ruby, but you don't understand. It just happens, and there's nothing we can do about it!"

"Birthdays are supposed to be fun. Come on, let's go to the amusement park! You guys with me?"

"Sounds great!" Iris said. The others nodded.

"Hmm... Maybe I'm descended from a long line of amusement park owners! This is a good opportunity to find out!" Skull Boy said.

Misery just groaned. "I have a bad feeling about this."


	4. The Ferris Wheel

"See, Misery? Nothing bad has happened," Ruby said. "Well, nothing more than what happens to you on a daily basis," she added. "Do you want to go on the ferris wheel?" They'd reached the amusement park by now.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Iris cheered. "Bring on the fun!"

Ruby laughed. "I was talking to Misery."

"Well, I can come too, right?"

"Of course. We can all go!"

"Just as a warning, it's likely to either collapse... or explode," Misery said.

"Collapse? Explode? She may be right. Perhaps we shouldn't go," Scaredy Bat whimpered.

"He has the right idea. I'm your one-way ticket to impending doom. And the bad kind of doom. Not the cat."

Ruby ignored Misery and dragged her into the line for the ferris wheel. The others followed.

"I believe I will stay here, if that is all right?" Scaredy Bat asked.

"Sure, Scaredy," Ruby replied.

They approached the ferris wheel.

"If you're going to make me do this, I have to insist I at least ride in a separate car," Misery said. She boarded the only car that didn't have anyone else in it. Almost immediately, though, a couple got in and sat down.

"Warning: This car is out of order. Or at least it soon will be," Misery informed them. The two shared a disturbed look and backed out of the car. Misery hung a sign that read "DANGER" on the outside of it and no one else joined her.

The ride started. Ruby and Skull Boy found themselves holding hands and blushed. Iris enjoyed the ride by jumping up and down, causing the car to rock violently. "Faster! Higher!" she shouted gleefully.

Although the car Ruby and the rest were in was much heavier and also being rocked, while Misery was simply sitting quietly, it was Misery's car that suddenly detached from the rest of the ride and fell to the ground. The other passengers screamed at the sound of the crash.

"STOP THE RIDE!" Ruby shouted. The ride operator pulled a lever and the ferris wheel screeched to a halt.

"Everyone stay calm!" everyone in the ride heard being broadcasted through the intercoms. "Stay in your seats and we'll get everything worked out."

Misery, under the pile of debris, also heard this, as the intercom from her car was directly on top of her ear. The message woke her from her previous state of unconsciousness, but she did not yet get up.

"Iris, do you still have that worm whistle?" Ruby asked.

Iris nodded and took a small red whistle out of her pocket. "Never leave home without it!"

"Call Squig. We need to go make sure Misery's all right."

Iris blew into the whistle and Squig, her enormous pet worm, came flying towards them. "Hop on, everyone!" Iris directed, climbing out the window onto Squig's back. They all hurried on and Squig flew them down to where the remains of the fallen car lay. Just then, Scaredy Bat approached and saw the wreckage. He gasped.

"What happened?" he asked.

"The car just... fell! Misery's in there somewhere!" Iris cried.

Misery emerged from the rubble. "I'm right here," she said.

"Misery! Are you okay?" Ruby asked.

"I told you something like this would happen," she said.

The ride operator ran over. "There was a girl in there?!" he exclaimed. "Please, please don't sue me. We can't afford it!"

Misery sighed. "No worries," she said. "It was my fault anyway."

"How...?"

"Things like that happen to her a _lot_," Ruby explained. She turned to Misery. "I'm glad you're okay." She hugged her fiercely. Misery winced.

"Not _that _okay."

"I'm so sorry," Ruby said sadly. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have made you come here when you didn't want to. This never would have happened if it weren't for me. I completely ruined your birthday."

"_This _wouldn't have happened, but something else equally bad would've. It has nothing to do with you. It's me. The universe just hates me, that's all. Anyway, it was fun until I fell."

"It's only eleven o'clock a.m.," Iris commented. "We can still make the rest of your day fun."

"If you want to, of course," Ruby added. "But look on the bright side- now you don't have to worry anymore. The bad thing already happened. And look! We all made it!"

"That... wasn't it," Misery said.


	5. Bad News

Everyone stared at Misery.

"What?" Ruby asked, alarmed.

"That wasn't the bad thing I was talking about," Misery repeated, struggling to free herself from the pile of destroyed ferris wheel car pieces.

"But- No! That can't be true." Ruby laughed nervously. "How was that not the bad thing?"

"That was only _minorly _catastrophic," she said. "It's still leading up to the _really _bad things. First there was the front stairs, then the muffin, then the lightning, then the ferris wheel. If this year is like all my previous birthdays, there'll be three more things before the grand finale. And if this is like the fourteenth birthday of everyone else in my family... we're all in trouble."

Everyone looked worried.

"_Now _do you understand why you should stay away from me today?" Misery said. "That could have been _you _instead of just me. And there are still four more disasters to go!"

"Yes, I believe we get the point," Scaredy said frantically. "Best of luck to you, Misery." He started to scurry off, but Ruby stopped him.

"Private meeting, guys!" Ruby announced. "Misery, you stay here."

"O...kay... I'll just... stay here then."

Ruby took them all aside.

"Guys, we can't let Misery know we're worried," she said.

"Why?" Iris asked. "Wouldn't she be happy to know we care about her?"

"No, Iris. Look at her- she's trying to act like it's no big deal like she usually does, but I can tell she's really scared. If she catches on that _we're _worried, it'll only make her worry _more._"

"Wait, so if we worry, she does, and if we don't, we do, but she doesn't know we do, so she doesn't, but she does? Wait... I'm confused," Len said.

Frank sighed. "Never mind, Len, you're just not getting it."

"I understand," said Skull Boy, "but I don't know if I can act that well. I'm really worried about her."

"Me too," Iris said. "I mean, what if something bad _does _happen? And what about us? What if it happens to us, too?"

"It _won't. _You know why? Because we won't let it. I now have no doubt that Misery's bad luck is trying extra hard today. But all we have to do is try even _harder. _Get it?"

There was a murmur of agreement.

"Great! Come on, let's go make sure the rest of her birthday is fun and disaster-free."


	6. Do Friends Make All the Difference?

"Just so you know, I heard every word you guys just said," Misery informed them. "Next time, if you're trying to have a private meeting, try talking a little quieter."

"Oops," Ruby said. "Sorry."

"And just so you know, I'm kind of relieved that you're worried," Misery said. "Honestly, I was starting to get concerned. It's good to know that you're not so blindly optimistic that after all this you still thought there was a 110 percent chance that everything was going to be all fine and dandy for sure."

"Was Ruby right about you?" Iris asked gently.

Misery nodded, just barely. "The fourteenth birthday is always the worst. I used to have six cousins- on my father's side, not sisters with Malady and Malaise- Malaria, Macabre, Maudlin, Melancholy, and Mournful. Each of them... died on their fourteenth birthday."

"That's awful, Misery," Ruby said sympathetically. "But that's not going to happen to you."

"I'm not so sure," Misery mumbled.

"Well, did they have a bunch of friends like us, who stuck by them to make sure nothing bad happened?"

"Nobody dared go near any of them on their fourteenth birthdays. You guys _really _should do the same."

"Friends make all the difference," Ruby announced.

"I hope you're right," Misery said.

"Come on! Let's party!" Iris yelled.

"Well, what do you want to do, Misery?" Ruby asked.

"Um... go somewhere where there are no people for at least a hundred miles and wait to die?" She attempted a smile, as if she'd made a joke, but failed to hide her, well, misery.

"Why don't we go home and have some cake," Ruby suggested.

"Sure," Misery sighed.


	7. What Could Go Wrong With Cake?

"Okay," Ruby directed. (They were back home now.) "I'll make the cake. Iris, you're in charge of games. Doom and Skull Boy, decorations. Frank and Len, you'll do music."

"Yeah!" Frank and Len cheered.

"And finally, Scaredy, you can wrap the presents. They're in the Great Hall closet."

Scaredy Bat was still shaking from the ferris wheel incident, despite the fact that he hadn't even been riding it. "If you don't mind, Ruby, I would much rather go back to my room…"

"Okay," Ruby said. "Who wants to take over for Scaredy?"

Boo Boo looked annoyed but raised his ghostly little hand anyway. "I'll do it."

"Thanks, Boo Boo. Now, let's get started!"

"I told you I don't want a party!" Misery said, but everyone was too busy planning her party to listen. So she just stood there in the middle of everything as her friends rushed around, setting up for a party she didn't even want. She sighed. Things had been going okay so far- well, better than she'd expected, at least- but that only greatened her suspicion that it was going to get much worse.

"Cake's ready!" Ruby called. Misery was dragged into the dining room and sat down at the table, where Ruby was putting candles on a large purple cake.

"Stop looking so down, Misery!" Iris said cheerily, bouncing about. "I mean, what could possibly go wrong with cake?"

"Don't jinx it!" Misery cried. "When you say things like that they always happen! That's not even just a me thing, it's a fact!"

"Sorry," Iris shrugged.

Skull Boy turned out the lights as Ruby lit the candles.

"Happy birthday to you," everyone sang, "happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Misery, happy birthday to you!"

Misery eyed the candles. "I don't think fire is a good idea…"

"Just make a wish!" Iris yelled.

Misery hesitated, then closed her eyes and made her wish.

_I wish we could all make it through this birthday alive, _she thought.

Meanwhile, Boo Boo, who'd finished wrapping the presents, was floating about looking for the perfect prank opportunity. Then he had an idea. He waited behind Misery for a moment, waiting for her to blow out the candles. Once the fire was gone, he gave her a little push, planting her face into the cake. He chuckled.

"This is gold," he said.

_Well. That could have gone much worse, _Misery thought, grateful the candles hadn't been lit. But before she could remove her face from the cake, the candles reignited.

"Oh, no!" Ruby said. "I bought trick candles by mistake!"

Misery jumped up, her face burning. Her intention was to find some water to douse the fire, but as the flaming frosting all over her face made it difficult to see, what she ended up doing instead was tripping over a chair and falling straight out the window that someone had carelessly left open. She landed in a small pond, thankfully putting out the fire, but before she could get her bearings, one of Iris's carnivorous plants grabbed her by the leg and yanked her upwards. It started chewing on her leg like a dog on a rawhide bone.

"_Ow! _Stop- I'm not- food!" Misery tried, though she knew that even if the plant could understand her, it couldn't care less about her pain. Just then, Misery saw Iris jump out the window. She landed expertly on her feet and tossed a peppermint up in the plant's direction. It snapped eagerly at the candy, dropping Misery to the ground hard.

"I told you, eat peppermints, not friends!" Iris called to the plant.

"It's not very well-trained," Misery said as Iris helped her get to her feet.

"You okay?" Iris asked.

"Define 'okay.'"

As she hobbled inside, Misery bitterly noted that Iris had once told her the plants were harmless.

* * *

A bit later, Misery sat on the floor of her room, bandaging her leg as Boo Boo poured cool water over her face.

"Seriously, I didn't mean to do that!" he said. "It was just supposed to be a prank!"

"I know," Misery replied. "Again, not your fault. Stuff's going to happen to me no matter what anybody does. You need to stop blaming yourselves for it."

"Well, in a little while, why don't you open your presents?" Ruby asked. "How does that sound?"

"Sure," she sighed.


	8. Presents Are Supposed to be Fun

About an hour later, when Misery was feeling slightly better, everyone went upstairs so that she could open her presents. They were piled in a precarious stack that made her a little nervous.

"This doesn't seem like the best way to stack them…" she said quietly.

"It's a tower!" Iris said. "Look! Mine's the one all the way on top!"

Misery gingerly reached for a present next to the stack. She grabbed it and ducked, waiting for them to come crashing down on her. Nothing happened.

"That is from me," Scaredy Bat said timidly. He had come out of his room to watch Misery open presents. He was alarmed by her bandaged leg and burned-looking face, but he figured it was better not to ask.

She opened the box from Scaredy Bat. It was a large first-aid kit.

"What kind of present is _that?_" Iris complained. Scaredy looked sad.

"It's what I asked for, Iris," Misery said. "I'm running low. Only six hundred. That's six hundred and one, now. Thanks, Scaredy." She smiled slightly. "And it seems like I'm going to need it," she added to herself.

She picked another present up from around the pile. It had no card.

"Who's this from?" she wondered.

"I have no idea," Ruby said. Everyone else shrugged.

Misery cautiously opened it and pulled out a stuffed purple panda. It had a string on its back, and she pulled it.

"Whatever," the panda said.

"Open mine next," Poe said, handing Misery a present wrapped in black paper. She tore off the paper and opened the box. Inside was a top hat, just Poe's size. Misery couldn't help but think Poe had been shopping more for himself than for her, but she wasn't complaining. After all, this was one of the best things to happen all day. To make him happy, she put it on, but it immediately fell off her head and inexplicably fell to pieces.

"That was short-lived," she commented. "Thanks, Poe."

Poe looked disappointed, as if he'd been hoping she'd return it to him.

"Mine next! Mine next!" Iris cheered.

Misery looked up at the stack. "I don't think I can reach that…"

"Don't worry, I'll get it!" Iris said. She put on her spring shoes and bounced up to the top of the stack. She reached for her present, but she couldn't quite grab it. Instead, she ended up pushing it.

"Oops," she said as the stack started to topple over. "Wait!" She attempted to get around to the other side to stop it from falling, but she was too late. The stack had already come crashing down on Misery.

Ruby gasped and everyone rushed over to the fallen pile to dig Misery out. They all tossed aside presents, box after box, but when they reached the bottom of the pile, Misery wasn't there.

"Where is she?" Skull Boy wondered, concerned.

"Wait a sec. This box seems awfully heavy…" Iris said. She opened it up and found Misery inside.

"Found her," Iris announced. She and Ruby lifted their unconscious friend out of the box and set her down on the floor.

"Misery?" Ruby gently poked Misery's shoulder. She stirred, then opened her eyes.

"I was right," she murmured. "I knew I would need that first-aid kit."

* * *

A/N: The purple panda plushie has no relevance to the plot, I know... and I know it won't make sense to anyone on here except chibishaymin1436. (Hi!) It's a nod to one of my characters from something else, that's all, and I didn't want to remove it from the story to post it.


	9. Despair

Iris's present turned out to be a TV, which had fallen on Misery first. The TV was cracked, but it blinked to life for a moment.

"In recent news, the Gloomsville Hospital was destroyed in a fire," it said. Then the already fuzzy picture turned to static and the TV died.

"This is not good, not good at all," Scaredy Bat whimpered. "We must be most careful!"

"It's fine," Misery said. "Well, I mean, no less fine than before. I still have enough first-aid kits to last us all through the day. I can go get a few so we'll have them here…" She stood up, but didn't walk three steps before tripping over her bandages. (She now strongly resembled a mummy.)

"On second thought… maybe someone else should do it," she said.

"I'll get them," Ruby volunteered.

Ruby went down the rickety stairs to Misery's room. She'd never understood why Misery chose to sleep on a bed of nails, but now was not the time to ponder this. She walked straight to the closet, which Misery kept stocked full of first-aid kits, and opened the door.

Ruby stared in disbelief. There was nothing but a gaping hole where the floor of the closet had been. Of course, this meant all six hundred of Misery's first-aid kits were gone. Ruby ran upstairs to tell the others.

"I have some bad news," she said.

They all looked alarmed, but none more than Misery and Scaredy Bat.

"In all the time I've known Ruby," Misery said to no one in particular, "I have _never, _not once, heard her say that. If _Ruby _says it's bad news… It must be really, really, really, extremely, very terrible!"

Scaredy Bat said nothing. He just clung to Doom Kitty, shaking so hard Doom would have thought there was an earthquake if she didn't know better.

"Misery, your closet is…" Ruby began. "Oh, I may as well get to the point. All your first-aid kits are gone."

Misery gasped. "No- that's not possible. I- That closet is supposed to be indestructible! You- must have seen it wrong. It's not possible. Let me look." She sounded more panicked than any of them had ever heard her before.

So she went downstairs to her room. Fell downstairs to her room, really. The others followed. When she opened her closet door, she found that Ruby was right. Her closet was just a doorway to a bottomless abyss, and the first-aid kits were all gone. She could do nothing but stare at the emptiness.

"Misery! It's been ten minutes!" Ruby's voice finally snapped Misery out of her trance. She closed the door and slumped down on the floor.

"They're… gone…" she said in a voice that scared everyone a little. It was quiet, distant, and a bit more high-pitched than usual, as if she were about to cry. Most of all, it sounded empty.

"It's okay, Misery," Ruby said, though she wasn't sure she meant it.

"There's…. nothing we can do," Misery said. "Nothing…. It's all over."

"Over? Over?" Scaredy Bat repeated, terrified.

"There's nothing left to do… There's just… nothing left…"

"Misery, it'll be okay. We just have to be careful, is all," Ruby said, as cheerily as she could manage.

"It doesn't matter… how careful we are. Things are going to happen… and now there's nothing we can do."

"Misery-"

"Don't."

"Misery, it's not over," Iris tried. "Life is an adventure! This kind of thing happens in movies all the time, and the heroes always make it through!"

"But I'm not a hero, Iris. I'm just me. Sure, the main characters always get a happy ending… But even though we're the main characters of our own story, most of the time, you get stuck with the story that no one tells. And the story no one tells doesn't need a happy ending." A tear ran down her cheek.

No one, not even Ruby, knew what to say to that.

Misery shakily stood up. "I am leaving," she said in the same tearful, empty voice. "Thank you for being such good friends." She started upstairs, but Ruby stopped her.

"Let's not go back to this again. We're still sticking by you no matter what."

"But Ruby…" Misery said. "If I stay here, well, you're going to die. If not, it'll hopefully just be me."

"Misery, we're not going to die. No one is. And we're not leaving you, either. Or letting you leave us."

"You don't understand, Ruby. Even if I were to stay here, it's not like you'd be saving me. It's still going to happen. Only it'll be to you, too. It would make me happiest just to know you're safe."

"Misery-"

"The world's probably better off without me anyway," she said to herself.


	10. Disaster Strikes Again

But Misery didn't leave. They didn't let her. She argued and struggled and insisted the best she could, but Ruby vowed that she wouldn't leave her side, and meant it.

"I think we need to cheer her up somehow," Iris said to Ruby. "This is not the right mood for a birthday. What should we do?"

"I know this is usually my department, but…. I'm not sure," Ruby said.

"I don't want to be cheered up," Misery said. "Ruby, I'm not just out of first-aid kits. I'm out of ideas. I'm out of solutions. I'm almost out of time. I should be out of this house."

"I know! Party games!" Iris said. She grabbed Misery by the hand and dragged her upstairs, the others following. Misery didn't even have it in her to argue any more. They might as well enjoy themselves while they could, she supposed…

"What should we play?" Iris asked. "Pin the tail on the donkey?"

"I think that's a little… dangerous for today," Ruby replied.

"Okay, how about musical chairs?"

"But we don't have music," Skull Boy pointed out.

"We can fix that!" Frank said.

"Your music's great, guys, but a little… loud. It might cause an earthquake or something," Skull Boy said.

"Okay, hide and seek," Iris tried.

"Depends on where you hide, I guess," Boo Boo commented.

While her friends were trying to decide what game to play, Misery was trying once again to make her escape. She may have been tired, but nothing was worth putting them in danger. She _had _to leave. So, as quietly as she could manage, she headed towards the door. Before she could get there, however, she stepped on a loose floorboard, the other side of which flew up and smacked her in the face. This caused her to fall backwards, onto another loose floorboard, which gave out upon impact. She fell headfirst through the hole in the floor, crashing painfully through several more floors before finally landing hard on the floor of her room in the basement.

"I know! A piñata!" Iris exclaimed.

"We definitely shouldn't be swinging a stick around," Ruby said. She paused. "Hey, where's Misery?"

They all turned around and saw the missing floorboard, or, more accurately, _didn't_ see the missing floorboard.

"That can't be good," Iris said.

"Come on!" Ruby instructed. She rushed down many flights of stairs, her friends following. They checked every floor until they confirmed that Misery had fallen all the way to the basement.

She was indeed there, unconscious for the third time that day.

"Since the hospital's gone and so are the first-aid kits, we especially need to keep her safe," Ruby told everyone.

"It is a bit late for that, isn't it?" Scaredy Bat pointed out.

"Why don't all of you safety-check the house- you know, get rid of any possible hazards, repair the floors and stuff, and I'll take care of Misery?" Ruby said. Everyone agreed.

As the others went off in separate directions to disaster-proof the house, Ruby picked up Misery and took her to her (Ruby's) room. She put her down on the bed (she figured it would be better for Misery than her own at this point) and pulled the heart-print blankets over her, making sure she'd wake up comfortable.

* * *

A bit later, Misery woke up. "Ruby?" she said.

"Yes?"

"I don't feel great."

"Anything I can do?"

"Not really. …I want it to be over."

"What do you want to be over?"

"Today. The disasters. I can't take this all at once… But it's not over yet."

"Maybe it is, Misery. Maybe that's all. Maybe you can just relax and recover now."

"No. It isn't over. There's more. I can tell."

"I've got the others disaster-proofing the house. It'll be okay."

"I doubt it," Misery mumbled. Tired from the pain, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

When Misery woke up, she felt very cold. She didn't know why, considering the weather was fairly warm, along with the fact that she was under all Ruby's blankets. All the same, she was shivering as she thought this.

"Misery? You awake?" Ruby stuck her head into the room.

"Yes," Misery replied, but burst into a fit of coughing just after. Ruby came in.

"You okay?" She sounded concerned.

"…Yes," Misery said, but she didn't believe what she was saying.

"Need anything?"

"…For it to no longer be my birthday?"

"Do you need anything that I can give to you?"

"No."

"Ruby!" Iris's voice came ringing up the stairs. "We need your help!"

"I can't!" Ruby called back.

"It's fine. Go ahead," Misery told her.

"You sure? Because if you need me to-"

"Go ahead," Misery repeated. There wasn't really anything Ruby could do for her, though Ruby's presence did make her feel a little safer. Then again, so did having the windows boarded up so they couldn't break, which from the sound of it was what they were doing.

"…Okay." Ruby sounded unsure, but went downstairs anyway.

Misery stared at the ceiling. The grand finale to her terrible birthday was coming soon, she could feel it. And she didn't feel ready. She knew she was sick, as sudden as it was, probably something potentially deadly. She couldn't fight the last disaster. Her life had been too short, but she didn't have the strength to stop whatever was coming next. Usually her bad luck at least gave her time to recover between disasters. Any one of the things that had happened today on its own she could have handled, but all together it was too much, even for her.

* * *

A/N: Okay, her being spontaneously sick seems weird... I dismissed that idea at first because of that, but I needed another disaster, and I realized... It's Misery. Anything can happen. XD


	11. It's Not Over Yet

"Just one more to go!" Iris said cheerily. They all approached the last unboarded window.

"How's Misery?" Skull Boy asked Ruby, holding up a board to the window. Iris hammered away, nailing one side of the board to the wall next to the window.

"I don't know, she seemed-"

Everyone jumped back upon seeing the bright flash. The window shattered as a bolt of lightning, followed by four others, shot through the upper portion of the window. As if they had minds of their own, they rushed up the stairs….

* * *

When Misery saw the lightning, she jumped out of Ruby's bed, despite everything, in a panic. She knew she could only delay her fate, not stop it altogether, but she had to try, no matter how hopeless. She couldn't run, so she just held the wall to steady herself and stumbled along as fast as she could. She was tired and dizzy and her foot, which had been broken during the present incident, throbbed with pain as she walked, but she kept going nonetheless. The lightning bolts seemed to be alive, chasing Misery as if they were hungry animals chasing their dinner. It wasn't long before the lightning chased her into a dead end. She was cornered, nowhere to go. Even if she hadn't been, she wasn't sure she could go any further. The first bolt of lightning hit her and she fell to the floor. It seemed more painful than usual for some reason… She felt weak, very weak. She knew she couldn't take much more… As the second bolt shocked electric heat through her body, she could feel herself slipping…

Ruby and the others got upstairs just in time to watch the second bolt hit Misery. Well, Ruby may have been optimistic, but she wasn't stupid. It was clear, though Misery could handle much more than most people could, that she wouldn't survive another bolt of lightning. Even now, Ruby worried that her friend wouldn't make it. She knew right away what she had to do…

Misery couldn't hold on much longer. It was such an effort just to breathe… Her body told her she'd feel so much better if she just gave in to the darkness trying to engulf her, but then her brain reminded her she didn't want to die. It was a constant battle. The next bolt charged toward her and she was sure the end was near. But then she saw a flash of black and red in front of her.

"Ruby…" she gasped.

Iris took the next bolt, and Skull Boy, the last one. Misery couldn't believe what was happening. They really cared _that _much about her…? No! This wasn't the time to think about that. They could be hurt.

"Are… you okay?" she managed.

"Oh, Misery, us, what about _you_?" Ruby said gently. "You're hurt badly."

"But are-"

"We'll be fine. You shouldn't talk."

"I'm okay," Skull Boy said. The lightning had simply scattered him about the room. "I just have to… put myself back together… Have you seen my other arm?"

"Here it is!" Len said.

"Len, that's a loaf of French bread..." Frank told him.

"So that's where I put it!" Len started munching on the bread.

"Guys!" Ruby said. "After Skull Boy finds his arm, we need to help Misery, okay? This is no time for bread!"

"Bread loaf… I hardly knew you…" Len lamented, tossing the bread sadly out the window.

Iris went over to Misery and tried to help her up, but she didn't have the strength to support her own weight. She just fell right back down. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I feel so guilty after you did that for me, but I'm still… not sure I can make it…"

"Of course you will," Ruby said. "Just hang on. We're going to help you."

With all the excitement over, Misery fainted.

* * *

"What are we going to do, Ruby?" Skull Boy asked. "The Gloomsville Hospital burned down, remember? And she obviously needs help."

"We'll have to go out of town, then. Frank, check your cell phone. When's the next train to the next town over?"

"Joyville?" Scaredy Bat whimpered. "I have heard terrible, terrible stories about that town…"

"Don't worry, Scaredy. I'm sure they're just rumors. We have to get there for Misery."

"Uh, Ruby?" Iris asked nervously. "Even I'm not sure that's a good idea. Joyville is… cursed."

"That's silly."

"She's right, Ruby," Skull Boy said. "Nobody ever warned you about that place?"

"No, of course not," Ruby said. "Just hurry. Misery's hurt, remember?"

"Going to Joyville would not be wise," Poe advised. "That horrible town will not help our Misery. As Iris said, it is cursed."

"Yeah! I heard it's haunted by a killer loaf of bread!" Len said ominously.

"That's not the story at all, Len. Stop talking about bread. This is serious," Frank told him.

"Oh. Right."

"Misery is much more important than rumors about a curse," Ruby said. "She's our friend, and she's counting on us. If we don't help her she could die. We need to go to Joyville."

So they (very reluctantly) boarded the train to Joyville. When they got to their seats, everyone huddled together, terrified, except for Ruby, and of course Misery, who was still unconscious.

"W-what will become of us?" Scaredy Bat squeaked.

"Will someone tell me what's so bad about Joyville?" Ruby asked exasperatedly.

"Do you _really _wanna know?" Iris asked.

"Yes."

"Okay…. They say Joyville is cursed. "

"You mentioned that."

"I don't know why you haven't, but everyone in Gloomsville, just about, has been warned since they were babies to never, never go to Joyville. _Especially _not on a train."

Scaredy gulped and held tightly onto Skull Boy, who was next to him.

"And _especially _not on a Thursday."

"What day is it?" Boo Boo asked.

"…Thursday…" Poe noted nervously.

Everyone, again except for Ruby and Misery, exchanged nervous glances.

"But why?" Ruby asked.

"Joyville is haunted by a terrible spirit… They say she was murdered by a traveler… And now, she curses anyone who passes through Joyville, in the hopes that she'll bring her killer to justice. Of course, he's long gone now, but to her, all travelers… are enemies. If you enter Joyville, they say you'll die within three days."

Ruby looked a little nervous, but said, "I'm sure that's not true. We have to do this for Misery."

"It would be better for her, too, if we stayed in Gloomsville…" Skull Boy said. "At least then she'll have a chance…"

"No, no she won't!" Ruby said, losing her temper for once. "She won't live if she doesn't get to a hospital. Would you really sacrifice your friend who has been nothing but kind to you for fear of a legend? Even if none of you care enough to come, I'm taking Misery to Joyville."

This silenced everyone. After a long, awkward silence that lasted about ten minutes, Ruby spoke again.

"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

"No, Ruby, you're right," Iris replied. "We can't let Misery die just because we're afraid. We have to do this."

* * *

A/N: Please don't say Ruby is OOC in this chapter. It's supposed to be uncharacteristic, but I think it makes sense. I mean, Misery could die- she feels strongly about this.


	12. The Journey Continues

They got to Joyville safely after several hours. The nervous group of friends disembarked the train. Joyville was unnervingly sunny and cheerful-looking, but the people all seemed to be in a bad mood. It seemed like the perfect place for a curse to all of them, but no one mentioned the curse again. They looked at the map of Joyville at the train station to determine their destination.

"Okay, the Joyville Hospital is here," Skull Boy said, pointing at a spot on the map, "and we're here."

"And the bakery is _there_!" Len said triumphantly.

"Stop thinking about bread!" Frank shouted at him.

"Don't worry, I'll share… Oh. Right. Misery. Forgot again."

"It looks like the fastest way to get there would be to take the bus," Ruby said. "Let's go to the bus stop."

So they did, and boarded the bus, which was packed with people. There was no room to sit down.

"Excuse me-" Ruby said to a man who was sitting on the bus. "Would you mind getting up? My friend-"

"Get your own seat," he growled.

Everyone else on the bus reacted similarly, so Ruby was forced to continue holding Misery.

A few minutes later, the bus stopped.

"Why did we stop?" Ruby asked.

"I pulled the cord," Len said.

"Len!" Iris shouted. "Why?!"

"Because we're at the bakery," he told them matter-of-factly.

"Len! We're not going to the bakery," Frank said. "Although… a donut does sound good right about now…"

They got off the bus.

"We can't wait for you!" Skull Boy called after them.

Before long, they noticed the bus starting to veer off the road. Ruby looked up front.

"The driver's asleep!" she said. "Skull Boy, did you ever think that you could be descended from a long line of bus drivers?"

The bus tilted to one side slightly and the doors flew open. "But- I don't have a license!" Skull Boy shouted.

The bus starting edging towards a cliff, and Ruby, holding Misery, was sliding towards the door. "Neither do most kappas, and that doesn't stop them! Just try!" she shouted frantically.

"O-okay!" Skull Boy took hold of the wheel and steered the bus away from the cliff.

They eventually got there, rather unsteadily and slowly, but they made it.

"That was… terrifying…" Scaredy Bat commented.

"Finally," Ruby sighed. "Our journey is over."

Iris helped Ruby carry Misery inside. The others followed behind.

"Patient name?" the woman at the front desk asked.

"Misery Sorrow."

"There ain't no Misery Sorrow in our records," the woman said.

"Well, we've never been here before. Please, can you just take care of her? It's urgent-"

"We don't treat people from out of town."

"What kind of policy is that?" Iris demanded.

"Well, couldn't you make an exception for an emergency?" Ruby begged. "If she doesn't get help soon she'll die!"

"We don't treat out-of-towners!" the woman shouted. "Get out!"

"What are we going to do now?" Iris whispered as they left the building.

"We'll have to go to the _next _next town over," Ruby said. She looked at Misery. She was running out of time. Could they make it? "Yes," she said out loud. "We can get there in time. Misery is strong. She can make it."

"Back to the train station," Skull Boy sighed.

Frank and Len came up to them. "What did we miss?"

* * *

The train out of Joyville was much more pleasant than the bus, but no one was happy. How much longer could Misery go on? And how much longer would it take them to get to the hospital? They all hoped the latter came sooner.

"Skull Boy, how long until we get to Contentville?" Ruby asked.

"Um… about… four hours. And then about another two to get to the hospital…"

"Six _hours_?" Ruby exclaimed. "Guys, I don't think we _have _six hours. There's gotta be a faster way."

They all racked their brains for anything, even just the slightest idea. They needed a solution, and fast.

"I just hope she will be all right," Scaredy Bat sighed.

"She will," Ruby assured them- and herself. "Of course she will."

"This just isn't right!" Iris exclaimed after a moment. "This is how it goes: Ruby tells us everything is going to be okay. Then Misery lists off everything that could possibly go wrong. I was waiting for the second part, even though I know she's not gonna say anything. Between the two of you, Ruby, we have a balance."

"What are we going to do?" Skull Boy wondered. "You're right, Ruby. She doesn't have six hours."

Misery stirred slightly. Everyone looked at her hopefully.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

She closed her eyes again and was still.

"Did she just…?" Scaredy Bat began.

"No, no, she's still alive," Ruby assured him. Barely, but she was. Still, Ruby was worried. They really needed a faster way.

"Uh… is now the time to tell you about what we won at the bakery?" Frank asked.

"Now's not the time, Frank," Iris said.

"But it's a coupon for a free trip!" Frank said. He took a ticket out of his pocket. "'The Fastest Way To Contentville'," he read. "'You've won a speedy trip to Contentville, complete with a chauffeur service to anywhere in town you want to go!' Len bought so much bread they gave us this."

"Frank! Len! Guys! Why didn't you tell us sooner?! This will help Misery!" Ruby exclaimed.

They got off the train at the next stop.

"How do you redeem it?" Skull Boy asked. "How do we get the trip?"

"Let me see," Frank said. "'Call the number below and tell them the code on the back of this coupon.'"

"I'll do it!" Len said. He took out his cell phone. "T… H… E… N… U… M… B…. R… B… E… E… L… O…"

"No, Len! You call the number on the coupon, not literally 'the number below!'" Frank told him.

"Okay. How do you spell coupon?"

"No! This number." Frank showed Len the number on the coupon.

"Oh." Len dialed the number. "The code on the back of this coupon!" he said proudly into the phone.

"Let me do it, Len," Frank said exasperatedly. He snatched the phone away and said the number.

"Current location?"

He glanced at the train station wall. "Joyville Stop 32."

"A high-speed taxi will be on its way shortly."

Two minutes later, a taxi zipped up.

"Where can I drive ya?" the driver said chipperly. Obviously he wasn't from Joyville.

"We need to get to the Contentville Hospital. Fast," Ruby said.

"Okay! Hop in."

So they did. In an hour- five hours less than otherwise- they were at the hospital.

"Thanks!" Ruby called to the driver.

* * *

Ruby and Iris were treated for a few burns from the lightning and were told they could resume their activities as normal, but it was a few hours before anyone was allowed to see Misery. She was still unconscious and looked no better than before.

"Is she going to be okay?" Ruby asked a doctor.

The doctor sighed. "I don't have an answer to that, I'm afraid. Really, the number of injuries is startling. It's a miracle she's even alive now. What happened to her?"

"It's a really, REALLY long story," Ruby said.

"It's serious, but with good care and a lot of good luck, she might be able to pull through. I can't say anything for sure."

"Good luck?!" Iris exclaimed. "But Misery's the queen of _bad _luck!"

"So she is doomed," Scaredy Bat said sadly.

"Guys, we can't give up on her," Ruby said. "That's the other thing about Misery- she doesn't give up. Despite everything that happens to her, she's never decided it's not worth it, never decided to sit in her room all the time and hide from it all. She's never given up on living her life. We have to do the same- never give up. She's in good hands now. She's getting what she needs. She can make it."

Misery continued to balance on the border between life and death, and no one knew what was going to happen. Ruby and friends camped faithfully in the hospital waiting room for this whole time, visiting her whenever they could and anxiously awaiting news. But it wasn't until the next Friday, a week and a day after everything happened, when things changed.

* * *

A/N: Ahhh, Len- bringing humor to even the darkest of times. The kappa thing was a reference to Kapp'n of Animal Crossing fame, and his (in my characterization of him) bad driving skills. At first I typed bad driving skulls. Oh, and Sorrow is the last name I made up for Misery, it will be used in my other stories too.


	13. The Awakening

Misery slowly awoke, opening her eyes to the too-bright hospital-room light that she was all too familiar with. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she had a vague awareness that she shouldn't be waking up. Wait… she'd survived? How?

"Misery!" Iris's voice rang loud and clear across the room, so that Misery could hear her name echoing in her ears. Iris was next to the hospital bed, jumping up and down, in a moment.

"Misery! You're finally awake! We've been so worried- and- and-"

The others appeared as well as Iris gave the still rather incoherent Misery an excited hug. Ruby pulled Iris off her.

"Iris, she's still hurt, you know. Be careful," she told her. She turned to Misery. "How are you doing, Misery?"

Misery pondered for a moment whether to tell them the truth or what they wanted to hear. She decided to change the subject.

"What happened after the lightning?" she asked.

Ruby told her everything.

"…Wow." Misery was shocked. They'd done so much for her. How could she ever repay them for saving her life? "You really…. did all that just for me?"

Ruby looked surprised at Misery's surprise. "Of course. What did you think we'd do?"

Misery didn't know what to say. She couldn't understand why they would go to such lengths for her- _her, _the girl who brought the gloom to Gloomsville, who brought rain wherever she went and broke everything she touched. She didn't know how they could care so much about her. But it made her strangely… happy. Though she was in a lot of pain right now, she had a feeling that she'd be all right after all. She didn't think she was going to die. It wouldn't be easy, but she'd pull through.

And it was all thanks to them.


	14. Let's Go Home

Another week and Misery was told she could go home. So they left the hospital and got on the train back to Gloomsville. Misery tried to put her gratitude into words, to thank them somehow, but the words didn't exist. Nothing could possibly express her feelings- they were much too great.

"Hey!" Iris said. "It's been over a week since we passed through Joyville! We didn't die!"

"But now we must pass through again," Scaredy Bat whimpered. "Perhaps the curse will work this time…"

"Wait, are you talking about the Curse of Joyville?" Misery asked.

"Yes," Skull Boy replied.

"We had to take you to Joyville, and we were all freaked out," Iris said.

"...You didn't have to be so worried. That story was never true," Misery informed them. "She wasn't killed by a traveler. She was killed by a train. It was dark. She couldn't see the tracks. And she picked the wrong place to have a picnic. No murder was involved. Simply a tragic mistake. There's no curse, either."

"How do you know that?" Iris asked.

"Because she was my great-grandmother."

"Well, where did the curse story come from?"

"Someone once overheard her screaming something about a curse... But she was really just shouting to her neighbor across the street about a book she read. And someone got their timelines mixed up- that was _before_ she died."

"Well, you could have told us that sooner!" Len cried.

"Len, she was unconscious," Ruby said.

"Well, that doesn't excuse not telling us."

"I survived my fourteenth birthday," Misery said, leaning on her crutches as she stared, a little distant, out the window. "I never thought that would happen."

"Well, it did," Ruby said. "We're all glad you're going to be okay."

"I wouldn't be without you, you know. I wouldn't even be here at all. You saved my life. I'm… I'm so thankful. I just have one question, though: Why?"

"We couldn't let you die."

"I always knew you were the best friends in the world."

* * *

A/N: So that's my story! I hope you liked it! Also, I have two things related to this story (other than my other Ruby Gloom stories, which often reference each other)- a song that goes at the end of this, and a story explaining how the legend of the Curse of Joyville came about in more detail. Would you like me to post them? Please tell me!


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